Grief Counseling
Death and loss are among the few things guaranteed in life. No matter how much money you have or how famous you are, you will face loss and you will grieve.
In itself, grief is not a negative emotion. It is a very natural way for our mind and body to cope with a sudden loss. Be it the death of a loved one, losing a job, or breaking up with a partner, grief comes in different shapes and sizes. It only becomes a problem when you cannot get over the grief, and it starts to stop you from progressing in life.
Grief therapy, or grief counseling, can help anyone going through a major loss. Here's what you need to know about it.
Getting over grief takes time
You cannot decide to not grieve one fine morning. Similarly, you cannot expect your therapist to have some magic pill to cure your grief. Understanding that getting over it is a process is the first step. Once you have realized this truth and internalized it, things will start getting better for you.
The Kübler-Ross model states five stages of grief:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
While this model is not absolute, it gives a rough idea of what happens to a person when they are grieving a major loss. Unless you go through all the stages, you cannot come out of it with hope and motivation. A qualified therapist will help you go through each phase and minimize their effect on your overall well-being.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Both CBT and ACT are approaches that therapists take to help people with grief and depression. In CBT, the focus is more on identifying triggering emotions and then learning how to change them. ACT, on the other hand, deals with feelings of acceptance and moving on. Your therapist would introduce you to the reality of the loss and teach you to slowly accept it.
Both approaches work, and it is up to you and your therapist to determine which one to use. It is also not uncommon for therapists to use both.
If grief starts to overwhelm you, you must waste no time and go to a therapist. Even if it is difficult to pull yourself out for that first step, remember the bigger picture. The sooner you go to a therapist, the quicker you will heal.
Remember that all healing is self-healing in the end. A therapist only shows you the direction that will make things easier. However, it is often the direction that we lack, not the strength or willpower.
NEED HELP?
Collaborative Therapeutic Services (CTS) wants to help. We offer a variety of counselling and therapy services, hours, and service providers with diverse specializations. We offer evening & weekend appointments in office or by TeleHealth conferencing.
Have questions? Contact Us Here or Call 813-951-7346. Located in Tampa, Florida. Ask us about our new NEUROLEASE® TREATMENT THERAPY - A cutting edge treatment for releasing toxic emotions.